According to Maharashtra government staging a strike at this juncture will cause inconvenience to farmers, industries and the people in general.Mumbai News Highlights: Maharashtra Power Minister Nitin Raut confirmed the invocation of MESMA in the state following the nationwide strike by trade unions on March 28-29 against the alleged privatisation of power companies. The Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) was invoked on Sunday. This will restrict the participation of employees from state-run electricity companies to join the protest.
There is hope for the revival of the Nanar refinery project as the Maharashtra government seems to be changing its mind about the project in the Konkan region, said Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan at an event in Mumbai on Sunday.
The eight-member committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to draft a pollution remedial action plan for Powai Lake has noted that 10.9 million litres of sewage per day flow into the lake directly. The sewage directly flows into the lake through 19 culverts and natural drains from the adjoining areas including a slum, National Institute of Electrical Engineering (NITE) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-B campuses.
Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut on Monday said he has cancelled his meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, with unions representing staffers of government-run power companies as the strike continued despite his request to call it off.
Raut said that the unions “can do whatever they want to”.
Speaking to reporters, he reiterated that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is against the privatisation of power supply companies.
Raut had called a meeting with representatives of the unions on Tuesday to discuss their issues. (PTI)
A 24 year-old man was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and killing a 7-month-old boy, who is the brother of the woman he was reportedly in a relationship with, a Mumbai police official said on Monday.
Kannan Muthuswami, a labourer in Goregoan's Filmcity, was arrested on Sunday, a Vanrai police station official said.
"Muthuswami was angry that his girlfriend's mother did not approve of their relationship. So he abducted the infant from below Mrinal Gore flyover, smothered him to death and dumped the body in a water tank near the Bombay Veterinary College in Goregaon on Saturday," he said.
A probe zeroed in on Muthuswami and he has been arrested for murder, the official added. (PTI)
A cow got stuck after falling into a drain near Dadar railway station in Mumbai on Monday morning and was rescued after nearly five hours, a fire brigade official said.
An incident report shared by a civic official in the evening said the incident took place at 6:45am and the fire brigade personnel arrived at the spot in Kabutarkhana area by 7:10am. Officials had earlier in the day said the incident took place at 7:30 am.
"The drain lid slipped down due to the cow's weight. It fell and got stuck at a depth of 8-10 feet in the drain and was unable to move out. After being alerted, two fire brigade vehicles were rushed to the spot along with civic and police personnel," an official said.
'Initially, an earth mover was brought to widen the drain opening. But, the rescuers later used a drill machine to avoid any injury to the cow. After five hours of hectic efforts, the drain walls were dismantled and the cow was pulled out with the help of ropes," the official added. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Monday reported 110 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero fatality, taking the tally of infections to 78,73,619, the state health department said.
The Covid-19 death toll remained unchanged at 1,47,780, a health department report said. On Sunday, Maharashtra had logged 140 coronavirus cases and one fatality.
Maharashtra is now left with 964 active cases in a total of 35 districts. Yavatmal, Washim and Hingoli districts have zero active cases, as per the report.
While the number of active cases in 23 districts is in a single digit, Ratnagiri, Nandurbar, Wardha, Jalna and Gondia districts each have only a single active case, it said. (PTI)
The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress are running the MVA government in Maharashtra together under the leadership of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said here on Monday.
He made the remarks while replying to Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil's comment that the NCP is running the MVA government.
“In the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, all of us are running the government together. Thackeray's role is important in that. The NCP and Congress are supporting him,” Pawar told reporters.
Pawar also asked reporters to not attach “too much importance” to BJP MP Sujay Vikhe Patil's reported comment that the MVA alliance was akin to a marriage where the NCP was husband, Sena was the silent wife and the Congress was the uninvited guest. (PTI)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has filed a police complaint against the Ismail Yusuf College in Jogeshwari East on charges of damaging tree roots. An official from the Gardens department of the civic body filed a non-cognizable offence over the matter against the college management at the Jogeshwari Police Station on Friday.
Notably, the Public Works Department (PWD) was constructing a boundary wall for the college when the damages were reportedly sustained.
Officials from the Gardens department said that they received complaints from citizens on Saturday that digging work abutting the Ismail Yusuf College has damaged tree roots in the vicinity. Following this, a junior tree officer reached the spot and found that three trees had been damaged. (Read More)
Maharashtra Congress leader Sachin Sawant on Monday welcomed Union minister Nitin Gadkari's "a strong Congress is important for democracy" remark, but asked him to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on what he claimed as BJP's efforts to destroy the opposition.
At an event in Pune on Saturday, Gadkari said a strong Congress is important for democracy and that it was his honest wish that the party becomes strong at the national level.
Gadkari had said that democracy runs on two wheels. "One wheel is the ruling party and another wheel is the opposition. A strong opposition is needed for democracy and that is why I feel from the heart that Congress should become stronger at the national level," he said.
While the Congress is weakening, other regional parties are taking its space, he said. "It is not good for democracy that other regional parties take the space of Congress," he added. (PTI)
Human remnants have been found in a closed shop in the basement of a building in Mumbai Naka area of Maharashtra's Nashik city, police said on Monday.
A foul smell was emanating from the shop for the past couple of days after which residents in the vicinity alerted police late Sunday night, an official said.
"The shop was full of scrap material. However, when two plastic containers were opened, we found human ears, brain, eyes and some face parts. The forensic team has taken custody of the human remnants for further probe," he said.
"The two sons of the shop's owner are doctors. so it is possible these parts were preserved for medical purposes. However, a probe is underway covering all angles. No case has been registered so far," the Mumbai Naka police station official added. (PTI)
After two minors were killed and five others injured in a house collapse in Kandivali on Saturday, the Mumbai civic body on Monday decided to take action against the road contractor, officials said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was carrying out drainage repair work along a road when the structure allegedly gave way due to the vibration caused by the construction work. According to the BMC, it was an illegal concrete structure without a foundation of piling.
The BMC’s drain work required digging a metre deep into the ground. However, as the building had no foundation, it could not withstand the vibrations generated. Read more
A cow got stuck in a drain near Dadar railway station in Mumbai on Monday morning and efforts were on to rescue it, a fire brigade official said.
The incident took place in Kabutarkhana locality around 7.30 am, he said, adding that it was not clear how the cow got stuck into the drain.
"The fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and efforts are on to rescue the cow," the official said.
The rescue operation was taking time as the heavy cow was stuck at a small opening of the drain, he said. (PTI)
With the addition of three new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 7,08,747, an official said on Monday.
These new cases were reported on Sunday, he said.
There was no fresh fatality and the death toll remained unchanged at 11,880, he said, adding that the Covid-19 mortality rate in the district stood at 1.67 per cent.
In neighbouring Palghar district, the Covid-19 case count has gone up to 1,63,588, while the death toll stands at 3,407, another official said. (PTI)
A 26-year-old man, who works for a real estate company, went on the internet to search for the number of Ambuja Cements Limited and ended up calling on a mobile number given on a fake website of the company losing Rs 3.21 lakh to cyber fraud.
There have been multiple incidents in 2019 and 2021 where fraudsters created fake websites or gave fake numbers of Ambuja Cements on the internet duping customers ordering cement.
Based on a complaint by the man, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered by the Bangur Nagar police station on March 27. The complainant told the police that as a purchase executive in a real estate company based in Goregaon (West), he has to order raw materials like cement for their real estate projects. On February 7, he went on Google and searched for the Ambuja Cements website and reached a fake website. He got an email ID—sales@ambujalimeted.com—and sent a mail asking them if they can supply 1,200 bags of cement of different grades. Read more
A Mumbai-based HR professional, whose efforts towards conserving the stepwells of Maharashtra found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on Sunday, said he has mapped and documented 1,650 stepwells in the state by travelling 14,000 kms for this cause.
Rohan Kale, 38, who works in a private company, said he developed a passion for stepwells during his visits to Gujarat, and began his mission to conserve such traditional structures back home in Maharashtra. Now, he not only aims to bring back the glory of these water bodies, but also wants to turn them into places which can cater to the drinking water requirements of the regions, where they are located.
Stepwells are wells or ponds in which the water is reached by descending a set of steps to the water level. These structures may be multi-storeyed with significant ornamental and architectural features. (PTI)
The Maharashtra Police has roped in an organisation that trains IPS officers during their induction into service to train its rank and file to tackle advanced cybercrimes. The police have selected the first batch of officers from among its ranks who were good in cyber investigation to undergo the training. These officers will later train other officers in the force.
In the past few years, Maharashtra has seen a rise in cases of cyber extortion and also a cyber-attack leading to power outage in Mumbai in 2020.
A senior IPS officer from Maharashtra Police said they have got trainers from the National Digital Crime Resource and Training Centre (NDCRTC) to train the first batch of officers. “There are a total of six courses related to various aspects of cybercrime. This training will help us deal with more advanced types of cybercrime that need more than a basic level of cyber training that is given in police stations to deal with cases of cheating. This is the same organisation that trains IPS officers during their induction at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad,” the official said. (Read More)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has paid Rs 264 crore this year to support the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking’s plan to procure electric vehicles (EVs). The civic body has decided to pay Rs 940 crore over five years to help BEST reduce carbon emissions by converting the entire fleet of diesel buses into EVs.
The BMC had received a Rs 264 crore financial grant from the central government for 2021-22 under the 15th Finance Commission’s recommendation for encouraging EVs, reducing air pollution and implementing a clean air programme.
“In all, the BMC is set to receive Rs 940 crore in the next five years. The first instalment of Rs 264 crore was transferred to BEST in the first week of March. Supporting public transport in EVs will make a significant impact on tackling the emission of greenhouse gasses. Along with the introduction of new buses, the fund will help in creating infrastructure like charging stations,’’ said Sunil Godse, deputy municipal commissioner, environment department. (Read More)
Maharashtra reported 140 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday, taking the tally to 78,73,509, while the toll increased by one to reach 1,47,780, a health department official said.
The lone Covid-19 fatality in the state was reported from Mumbai. So far, 77,24,803 people have been discharged post recovery, including 106 during the day, leaving the state with an active caseload of 926, he said.
Maharashtra health department data showed the fatality rate is 1.87 per cent and the recovery rate stands at 98.11 per cent. As per the data, the overall number of coronavirus tests in Maharashtra reached 7,92,49,720 after 40,759 samples were examined in the last 24 hours.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which covers the metropolis, Thane, Navi Mumbai and other neighbouring areas, reported 49 new cases on Sunday, while the figure was 42 in Pune cirle comprising Pune, Satara and Solapur districts. (PTI)
Only the Congress can defeat communal forces like the BJP, under whose watch the Constitution and democracy are in danger, AICC minority department chairman Imran Pratapgarhi said here on Sunday.
He was speaking at the review meeting of the Maharashtra Congress' minority cell in the presence of state unit chief Nana Patole and minister and Mumbai MLA Aslam Shaikh.
"We have before us the big challenge of saving the country from communal forces. This fight is not easy, but only the Congress has the strength to defeat such a force and hence, (all) should come together under the Congress's flag,” a party statement quoted Pratapgarhi as saying. (PTI)
The 21st century is going to be an era of knowledge, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Sunday, and asked IIT Bombay to to take a lead role in advancing new frontiers of knowledge.
The minister, who inaugurated a new hostel in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay campus, said knowledge-based economy and service sector-based economy is a reality now.
Students who have passed out from IIT Bombay should strive to become employers and entrepreneurs rather than employees, the minister said.
“IIT Bombay is synonymous with excellence. The institute's thrust on research, innovation and entrepreneurship, interdisciplinary dual degree programmes in digital health, environment, green energy, and data science will redefine India's position in the 21st century knowledge economy,” he said. (PTI)
Located in commercial South Mumbai, between the touristy Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade, the SB Somani Garden, popularly known as Cuffe Parade Park, is an abode of peace with one of the best glimpses of the sea the bustling metropolis has to offer.
Situated right next to the World Trade Centre beside the Arabian Sea, the garden is quite easy to spot and has among the most amazing views of the sunset in Mumbai. While it is open from 5 am – 9 am and from 5.30 pm – 9.30 pm, the evenings are an excellent time to visit the park which houses a lush green activity zone, walking track, benches and a quaint gazebo.
At the park, one can see several evening walkers and yoga enthusiasts. A yoga pavilion holds scattered rock benches under a canopy of trees so visitors can practise breathing exercises. (Read More)
A day after Mehbooba Mufti remarked that peace would be elusive in Kashmir until the Centre holds dialogue with Pakistan and people of Jammu and Kashmir, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the PDP chief could make such comments as the BJP had given people like her strength by forming government with her party in the erstwhile state.
Talking to reporters, Raut said the Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was a “friend” of the BJP at some point of time. The PDP has been “pro-Pakistan and sympathises with terrorists” right from the beginning, he claimed.
Notably, the PDP and BJP had come together to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015. The alliance broke in June 2018. (Read More)